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The Man Who Walked Alone

  • 1945
  • Approved
  • 1h 10m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
299
YOUR RATING
Kay Aldridge and Dave O'Brien in The Man Who Walked Alone (1945)
ComedyDrama

A hitch-hiking stranger manages a lift from a young woman into the town he's destined for, and she's from. Both land up in jail, twice, as the small town and its leading family slowly unrave... Read allA hitch-hiking stranger manages a lift from a young woman into the town he's destined for, and she's from. Both land up in jail, twice, as the small town and its leading family slowly unravel the in-plain-sight mystery behind this man.A hitch-hiking stranger manages a lift from a young woman into the town he's destined for, and she's from. Both land up in jail, twice, as the small town and its leading family slowly unravel the in-plain-sight mystery behind this man.

  • Director
    • Christy Cabanne
  • Writers
    • Christy Cabanne
    • Robert Lee Johnson
  • Stars
    • Dave O'Brien
    • Kay Aldridge
    • Walter Catlett
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.7/10
    299
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Christy Cabanne
    • Writers
      • Christy Cabanne
      • Robert Lee Johnson
    • Stars
      • Dave O'Brien
      • Kay Aldridge
      • Walter Catlett
    • 10User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos3

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    Top cast31

    Edit
    Dave O'Brien
    Dave O'Brien
    • Cpl. Marion Scott
    • (as David O'Brien)
    Kay Aldridge
    Kay Aldridge
    • Wilhelmina Hammond
    Walter Catlett
    Walter Catlett
    • Wiggins
    Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
    Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
    • Champ
    Isabel Randolph
    Isabel Randolph
    • Mrs. Hammond
    Smith Ballew
    Smith Ballew
    • Alvin Bailey
    Nancy June Robinson
    • Patricia Hammond
    Ruth Lee
    Ruth Lee
    • Aunt Harriet
    Chester Clute
    Chester Clute
    • Mr. Monroe
    Vivien Oakland
    Vivien Oakland
    • Mrs. Monroe
    Vicki Saunders
    • Camille
    Robert Hartzell
    • Joe
    Charles Williams
    • Moe
    Tom Dugan
    Tom Dugan
    • 2nd Desk Sergeant
    William B. Davidson
    William B. Davidson
    • Governor
    Dick Elliott
    Dick Elliott
    • Mayor
    Jack Raymond
    • Taxi Driver
    Jack Mulhall
    Jack Mulhall
    • 1st Cop
    • Director
      • Christy Cabanne
    • Writers
      • Christy Cabanne
      • Robert Lee Johnson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews10

    5.7299
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    Featured reviews

    10ashkakaylee

    A wonderful screwball comedy

    This movie is something of a find. With so many movies made at the time, many were bound to slip under the radar. This one did, sadly. The story is engaging from the start and never droops. It's a total joy. Considering it was made by one of the smaller studios, the sets looked good and the story was excellent. But really it's the acting by the two little known leads that makes this so watchable. Dave O'Brien, playing the kind of role that would normally have to gone to Cary Grant or Joel McCrea, proves he was as good as anyone at playing screw ball comedy. Kay Aldridge is stunningly beautiful as the female lead that would normally have gone to Claudette Colbert or Jean Arthur and is a revelation. Miss Aldridge bares more than a passing resemblance to Vivien Leigh, and at times sounds like her. Which is no bad thing considering how good Vivien Leigh was. She and Dave O'Brien have great chemistry together in this. The rest of the cast are just as good and I would recommend this movie to anyone to watch.
    6CinemaSerf

    The Man Who Walked Alone

    "Willie" (Kay Aldridge) is in the process of jilting her stuffy fiancé "Alvin" (Smith Ballew) - using his own car, when she encounters a hitchhiker to whom she offers a lift. They barely get half a mile down the road when they are apprehended by the cops for pinching the car and are promptly shoved in jail. It's an easy mix-up for her to clear up, but her passenger "Marion" (Dave "Dex" O'Brien) seems to be having more difficulty on that front and so she assumes he has something to hide. To find out more, she takes him to her home where she pretends to be the secretary to it's owner - really her mother, and sets about getting to the bottom of things where, of course, romance is only ever going to be just round the corner. With the fiancé on one side, the suspicious "Willie" and her disapproving mum all getting involved in her investigation, this amiably silly drama sets off down a path we've seen loads of time before. It's a bit as if auteur Christy Cabanne took the first part of one old script he found in the attic and put it together with another he found at the bottom of the gerbil's cage and so at times the plot overlaps and jars here. After the initial shenanigans settle down, it becomes a rather messy affair and the fairly lacklustre writing creates a story the cast can't really make too much headway with. That said, though, there is a decent rapport between O'Brien and Aldridge and the scene stealing Nancy June Robinson raises the whole spirit of the thing as the younger sibling "Patricia" who certainly has the best of the quips. It's a perfectly watchable afternoon comedy, but you'll never recall it.
    3planktonrules

    While I liked Dave O'Brien, I did not like this film...

    PRC was a very tiny studio with the lowest of budgets. One big way they saved money was to pay their writers practically nothing for their scripts--and it's painfully obvious in "The Man Who Walked Alone". While I enjoyed the leading man, Dave O'Brien, he just couldn't make up for a script that was written for peanuts.

    The film begins with O'Brien trying to thumb for a ride--and with no success. So, in desperation, he tries what an annoying farmer tells him--and jumps into the road at the next car. Well, it causes a minor accident and instant hatred erupts between the lady driver and O'Brien....and it was a cliché that the two would soon fall in love. But, in the meantime, some kooky things occur and they go to jail TWICE and yet they somehow have gone from hating the sight of each other to making eyes at each other--something that made no sense at all. In fact, the writer seemed to toss in many story elements--few that worked and the plot just seemed forced and quite contrived. None of it was believable or made sense--and I really couldn't wait for this ultra-cheapie to end.
    10drrosslg-149-206255

    A quiet masterpiece, a work of genius

    This film is an amazing display of genius in story telling through motion pictures. Christy Cabanne wrote and directed this quiet masterpiece. This is one of those movies where no changes could be wanted in its structuring. The scenes follow at a perfect pace, not slow, and not too fast. The chosen actors bring to life the parts they were intended for. All were well chosen...especially Kay Aldridge who at last gets to show a fuller scope of her acting talent. The script has been composed with an intelligence that is far higher than most scripts. The interplay of banter has a natural tone common only to something composed with a high IQ. I would love to comment on the subtle representations in the film but this would end up a set of spoilers for one of the great achievements in an unusual story made believable in this superior production.
    8pgalianaf

    A small gem

    I can see this is a series B movie, with the feel of a Hollywooed blockbuster. Acting is really good, and the story, although light, is really fun to watch. Found it by surprise, but could not get past it. It would be great to have the two lead actores rediscovered, specially the lady.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Karl Hajos' score earned a very rare Oscar nomination for PRC Pictures.
    • Goofs
      When Willie and Marion are riding in the taxi to the Hammond place, we see out the rear window a following car that appears to come up impossibly close: the windshield seems to be right at the taxi's rear window.
    • Crazy credits
      In the credits, the lead actor is shown as PRIVATE Marian XXXX, but clearly in the film and in the dialogue, he is a CORPORAL.
    • Soundtracks
      The Farmer in the Dell
      (uncredited)

      Traditional

      Heard during the first scene

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 15, 1945 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • French
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Es necesario el matrimonio
    • Production company
      • Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 10m(70 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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